I guess I don·t understand the hostility and all of the U.S.A. flag waving on this thread. I did not say anything negative about the United States in my comments.

Being an "expatriate" does not mean one has given up their love for their country of birth. It simply means they choose to live in a different place. One should check their definitions prior to making assumptions and stating them.

I am of course proud to be a U.S. citizen. I will probably some day become a dual citizen but would not nor could not denounce my citizenship by birth.

As for needing to go into major cities in Mexico in large croups and with arms. That is absurd. I have visited every large city in Mexico on my own and I do not and would not own or carry a gun. Nor have I experienced any violence.

In fact owning a gun in Mexico is illegal. And most all of the arms in Mexico have been smuggled in from the U.S. where gun ownership laws are far more lax. And many of the Arms in existance here, were introduced through C:I.A. programs like Operation "Fast and Furious." This has had a destabolizing effect on Mexico, regardless of their intentions. Mexico has filed lawsuits in U.S. courts about this illegal practice. Phillipe Calderon is working on this serious issue through the courts.

I guess the bottom line is that drug cartels would not exist if people were not buying the drugs. And many of such purchasers and drug users are in the U.S.

So I guess these drug related supply and demand issues are complex and fingers can be pointed in more than one direction. Cliches like "America, Love it or Leave it" were worn out in the sixties and have become even more petrified over time. Or so it seems to me.